Umubano offers variety community activities around Musanze, Gisenyi and its surroundings.

Activities

These are some of the ways in which local residents share the environment and their way of life with visitors, while increasing local income and building local economies. By sharing activities such as festivals, homestays, and the production of artisan goods, community-based tourism allows communities to participate in the modern global economy while cultivating a sustainable source of income and maintaining their way of life. A successful model of community-based tourism works with existing community initiatives, utilizes community leaders, and seeks to employ local residents so that income generated from tourism stays in the community and maximizes local economic benefits.

Local Banana Beer production

Traditional beer Production

Banana beer is a traditional Rwandese drink. Everyday hundreds of families around Rwanda produce thousands of liters of this famous local specialty. The whole process takes 6 days from putting the bananas into the ground to ripe until you can enjoy your delicious glass of beer. Participate in the brewing process of a women’s association and get full explanation of different types of bananas and other ingredients. You will also have the possibility to enjoy a glass of banana juice and to buy some crafts like mats or pumpkin carafes and also to participate on the making. The friendliness of the women will make your stay unforgettable experience.

A traditional beehive hangs on tree branches.

Bee Keeping

Members of various bee keeping associations produce bee hives that they place in swamps or forest areas rich in certain types of plants. Depending on what kind of honey is desired, these plants for example could be banana trees or certain flowers. Honey is an important means to cure a number of local diseases, so that it is shared with traditional doctors. The remaining honey is sold to local people and the benefits are shared with the other association members.

On additional to this activity, you will have a chance to visit one of the local beer made in sorghum crop in a very scenetic village.

Visit the Local Doctor, he will tell you different medicinal hubs they use to treat diseases.

Traditional healing and the Medicinal garden

The Rwandan traditional healers use a total of 138 different types of local herbs. Among the 23 diseases that they regularly treat are ulcers, skin diseases like scabies, complications with the monthly period of females, breast pain after delivery, allergies, snake bites, sexual problems, and even heart attacks.

During a visit to the local traditional healers you can learn about the use of different herbs and certain treatments, or simply listen to the rich stories of these interesting people. In addition, the local doctors can solve all love related problems including barrenness.

Tea Plantation in Rwanda

Town tours, village tours and visits to local markets

Our guides are familiar with all the major towns and villages in Rwanda. Special tours can be organized, for example, Ruhengeri or Gisenyi. These tours usually include visits to the local markets – most often one of the highlights of every African experience.

If desired, short visits to the homes of local families can be organized. In the case of small groups, further experiences such as eating with a family are possible and have an experience on traditional cooking and buffet.

Hiking and canoeing at Lake Bulera

Discover the impressive landscape at the twin lakes Burera and Ruhondo! The two lakes had once been united, until a lava eruption of Mt.Sabinyo divided them in the middle. This trip offers you a nice hike through the “Land of a thousand hills” and will always be accompanied by beautiful views of the surrounding area. After two hours of walking you can take a rest in one of the traditional canoes. Friendly locals take you on a trip around the islands of LakeBurera. Another 1 hour walk downhill through villages and banana plantations will complete your day.

Musanze Cave

Musanze Cave Exploration

The 1.25 mile long cave is home to a large bat colony and was the site of genocide and littered with bones until recently.

Given that much of the Northern part of Rwanda is covered by volcanic rocks, this cave rise to deep caves which greatly interest scientists and Tourists.

As an illustration, the Musanze cave, located in the town of Ruhengeri communicates with Kinigi Sector on more than 12 Km. This is an easily accessible cave and home to populations of bats. In the district of Mutobo are the caves Nyiragihima. The BUKAMBA Sector has a 10 km tunnel linking the volcano Muhabura and the lakeBurera. The history of Rwanda has a lot to tell about the caves.

Sharing our enthusiastic culture and History with our guest! Make one couple a king and queen Mother of Rwanda and tell them the story of our kings.

Visit Iby’iwacu Cultural Village

Iby’Iwacu (literary means, treasures of our home, our heritage) is the village of former poachers to the mountain gorillas who abandoned poching and decide the new local life and help in the conservation of the nature.

To this village you will learn much about the ancient Rwandan Kingdoms, the way they used the target of arrows when hunting, the traditional doctor and his medicine, their traditional dances that are more interesting and meaningful and so many others.Here you will meet different Local people have a chance to interact with them and as well follow up their testimonies on how they used to hunting animals.

FAMILY HOME STAY

Do you want to know more about the local people, culture, and lifestyle? The only way to get to know people, is getting close and interracting with them, and taking part in their daily activities and most of all with them. Staying in small local hotels is a great way to get a feel for the culture you’re visiting but if you really want to understand more about the daily lives of the local people, then there really is no substitute for spending a few days as a home stay guest. Of course, this style of travel isn’t for everyone… Conditions can be fairly basic – home is often a fairly basic wooden affair with mats on the floor to sleep on, cold-water showers and definitely no air-conditioning… but if you’re up for a little bit of an adventure and come with an open-mind, you’ll soon find that the minor discomforts are far out-weighed by the benefits of this unique experience. We want therefore to share with you our home and heritage treasures.

A DAY TRIP TO LAKE KIVU

Lake Kivu is a large deposit of fresh water that marks the western border with DR Congo and one of the Great Lakes of Africa. The lake lies in the Albertine Rift, a part of the Great Rift Valley and empties into the RuziziRiver, flowing southwards into Lake Tanganyika. Beneath the lake lie vast reserves of approximately 55 billion cubic of dissolved methane gas now being exploited. Lake Kivu is a wonderful tourist centre and is safe to swim so bring your swimming kit for a quick lunchtime dip. There are many stunning beaches, gorgeous landscapes and the sunsets are regularly stunning.

Enjoy your day in Gisenyi by visiting the hot water spring, the tea plantation, the Gisenyi city tour, the local fishing, the local brewing, and the lava of the Nyiragongo active volcano that destroyed the town nhof Goma in 2002. This time you will have time to enjoy swimming in Lake kivu and its amazing sandy beaches.